Rome's Descent
by SeaOfWisdom18
Summary: The new prophecy troubled those who heard it. They were certain that the daughter of Athena would tear everything down, on purpose or not. But Greek or Roman, they had to trust their praetor's words, and that's what they would do. My version of MoA.
1. Hello Goodbye

**WOW. I'm sorry to those of you who liked the old version of Rome's Descent..I mean, I kept the first chapter pretty much the same, but everything after that is going to be different...slightly. Some of the punch-lines you might (unfortunately) already be familiar with xD. New readers: WELCOME TO A BETTER VERSION...I HOPE...So err, enjoy!**

**And The-Daughter-Of-Rome, YOU BETTER update now that I did. :)**

_Percy_

"What do those Graecus think they're doing with their mother warship, for the gods' sake?" Frank shrieked. The "mother warship", otherwise known as the Argo II, was slowly arriving onto the soft dirt of Camp Jupiter. Slowly arriving meaning, about to crash into the principia at hundreds of miles per hour.

Percy took his arms from Frank and Hazel's shoulders. He was expecting a smooth landing and a warm welcome, but that apparently wasn't the case.

The son of Poseidon let out a deep, troubled sigh. "I hack through Laistrygonians, drown skeletons that attempt to kill me, regain my memory, and lose my curse of Achilles in the course of a week, and I still can't get a break?" he looked up at the sky resentfully.

"Why do you hate me?" he questioned. Thunder rumbled in the distance, probably saying something like, "Because I am stronger than you with my big, silver lightning bolts!"

Reyna stood beside him with a seemingly relaxed posture, but had a worried look upon her face. "Please don't crash...second time this year." she mumbled.

Percy felt the need to ask her how it collapsed due to a huge flying ship the first time, but decided that trying to prevent it from happening again was more important.

A steady breeze came from behind Percy, and he turned around to see the blond haired augur he felt he needed to strangle.

"So what are you going to do, _praetor_?" Octavian sneered. He seemed perfectly comfortable where he was standing, even though he would probably be crushed by a golden bronze dragon head if he stayed there.

Percy gritted his teeth and focused on the object in the sky. "I don't have time for this, Octavian." he muttered. The ship seemed to be way too close for his liking.

"It's approximately 120 seconds away, praetor," Dakota warned. "Do something!"

"Oh sure, Dakota. I'll just use my Elder wand and blast the ship to pieces and let the passengers float gently to land." he snapped caustically.

The son of Bacchus gasped. "You have the Elder wand? But Harry Potter DESTROYED that wand! Whoa!" Dakota burped noisily and waddled away

. Percy let out a second breath. 'If he keeps drinking sugar like that,' he thought to himself. 'We're going to have some serious liver problems with that boy.'

"We have literally a minute, Percy!" Hazel yelled from across the field.

_Leo_

"Valdez!" he heard a Piper scream from the upper deck. Leo huffed indignantly. "It's Supreme Commander to you, McLean!" he hollered back.

Piper skidded into the control center, her choppy brown hair blown wildly in all directions.

"We're going to crash into some big white building!" she panted. Her brown jacket was torn and muddy, her fair complexion tinged with red scrapes. The multi-colored eyes on her face were like poisonous darts, and they were aimed directly at Leo.

She was torn up and yet still beautiful to an extent that only an Aphrodite girl could uphold...Well, that's what _Jason _says.

If this is what perfection looks like to you Jason, Leo thought. Well, he would have plugged in the words "pretty yet crazy," but...He shook his head and left it at that.

Leo focused his attention on the overheating buttons and wires, which were hotter than a blazing summer day in Texas.

The multi-colored buttons on the panel blinked haphazardly, blue and white colored streaks filling the room. Leo's fingers played with the millions of wires below the panel. Beads of sweat slid down his face as he worked in a frantic concentration.

"Gah! Why must you be colored blue, wire?" Leo scolded the copper line. The boy tapped the wire three times. He frowned when it didn't "magically turn green." Piper rolled her eyes and sat down next to the hard working boy.

"What can I do to help Repair Boy?" she asked hesitantly.

Leo sighed in relief. "Normally, I would reprimand you and tell you it's FREAKING SUPREME COMMANDER...But...Just match these wires together, and hopefully they'll help the ship steer correctly." he gave the large wire bundle to Piper.

"It's simple if you can distinguish each wire from the other," he explained monotonously, as if it were second grade math to him.

" The pattern is, red goes to green goes to blue, goes to blue and green, then goes to red. Afterwards, just take the remaining blue wire," Leo held it up as an example and pushed it against another wire, causing a few switches on the control panel to turn on and off.

"And attach that to the yellow wire which will connect to white. Thanks, Pipes!" Leo brushed the dirt from his jeans and walked across the room, fumbling with the keyboard there.

"Red goes to yellow goes to green- Wait, what?" Piper asked. Jason rushed into the overheated room. "Guys, don't mean to rush you, but we have less than 30 seconds until we crash into the principia." he said, concerned.

Leo furrowed his eyebrows, still attaching wires and pressing buttons. "Principal? What is this, an elementary school?"

Jason glared at the son of Hephaestus. "It's the building we are about to crash into...now!"

_Percy_

Hazel gazed nervously at the ship, muttering incoherent comments every now and then.

You had better not crash, Percy thought. Or we'll all be dead.

"Guys! It's steering away from the principia!" Frank said, astonished. Percy sighed, obviously relieved. The only thing he had to worry about now was the fact that if his old friends messed with his new friends, he and his friends would all die.

He silently prayed to Zeus that he wouldn't die in the only place he's supposed to be safe in, especially not from something so stupid.

"Hey guys! Where's Percy?" One person would ask excitedly.

Then another half blood would look at the first solemnly and reply with, "He died...a Greek ship landed on the Principia and blew him to little pieces."

Yep, how lame was that?

The Argo II landed gracefully and all the passengers came running down from the deck.

Percy felt compelled to hug everyone that came from the ship, but he figured that was be incongruous of him...besides, he probably didn't even know half of the people who went on board..except for Annabeth, that is.

Annabeth. The name got stuck in his throat every time he tried to say it, and he hoped it wouldn't be the same this time.

The ladder descended and Percy cleared his throat. "Weapons down guys, remember!" he announced. Of course, weapons were already supposed to be put away, but from his peripheral vision he noted that about ten half bloods looked guilty as their swords clanged to the ground. 

"Fresh air!" a curly brown haired boy kneeled down on the dirt and thanked Zeus repeatedly. He looked about 15.

"You may be the best mechanic in the history of half bloods, but really, next time you decide to make a warship, let me do the measurements." A blond haired boy teased.

Percy chuckled. "Might be Jason," he guessed inwardly, After all, as Percy looked closer, he held the exact same electric blue gaze that Thalia had.

He looked at the line of teens descending the ladder and he gasped. On board were mostly unfamiliar faces, but one stood out against all of them. She had wavy blond hair and searching grey eyes. Her expression was concerned and confused, like many of the other half bloods that were visiting the Roman camp.

"Annabeth?" he whispered, not sure if he was looking at reality or a mirage. The girl seemed to acknowledge him, even from so far away, and smiled.

As the rest of the Greeks moved forward, Percy smiled.

The Romans, however, gripped their pilums and pugios tightly until their knuckles turned white. They were uncomfortable with the fact that these supposed enemies were just waltzing into their camp and no one was able to do a thing, Percy hypothesized.

His thoughts were cut off by an object bumping rather forcefully into him.

"It's you!" Annabeth hugged Percy tightly, and he relished in the warmth. Annabeth slapped Percy on the arm when they broke apart and scolded him. "Why did you leave Camp Half Blood for eight months?" she asked, her mother instincts kicking back into gear.

He shrugged. "Just the goddess of marriage toying with my life." he muttered.

A flash of frizzy, red hair exploded in Percy's face. "Annabeth gets a hug, I understand that, but what about me?" Rachel asked, playfully squinting her eyes.

Percy gladly returned her hug, but when he stepped back, he bumped into someone roughly.

"Woah dude, I'm so sorry-Oh. It's you." Percy inwardly scowled at eighteen year old before him.

Octavian cleared his throat. "If the Gracchus is done, I'd like to point out just a few more risks of letting these people into our organized society, Reyna."

"No, shut up." she snapped. He scowled and walked off, muttering about how he was never respected as Camp Jupiter's augur, and how he should've been elected as praetor instead of that two faced Greek idiot.

Percy pointed a finger at the remaining three teenagers that got off from the boat. The leader type alter ego he never knew he had took over him.

"I'm Reyna, daughter of Bellona, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion." Reyna quickly introduced herself to the Greeks. Percy stepped forward.

"I'm Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, member of the Fifth Cohort," the blonde boy seemed to have a smile tug at his lips, "and praetor as well." Any trace of happiness that lingered on Jason's face was probably gone by now.

Reyna's eyes softened slightly at the boy. She whispered something incoherent and her fingers twitched slightly, as if wanting to wave.

"I am Piper McLean, daughter of...Aphrodite." the girl spoke out, pausing at the name of her mother. Percy briefly studied her. She had uneven brown hair pulled into two short, hastily put together braids. Her black boots were worn out, and her eyes swirled and morphed into different colors. She had a small dagger along her side. She was a new Greek camper, Percy confirmed.

She held hands with the blonde, but he squirmed under the weight. He was obviously a bit uncomfortable.

The next guy had some sort of dirty tool belt around his waist. "Okay..." Percy said out loud. That was a weird object to be carrying around. Maybe it gave out free soda or something. Percy never knew.

"I'm Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus. You know, from the video I sent you guys?" Leo smiled. "Demigodishness? Remember that?" the praetor nodded and rolled his eyes. Definitely new. Percy would have remembered a guy like that. They would have become close friends.

Hazel stiffened and cleared her throat a little too loudly. "Are you...?" she whispered. Frank squeezed her hand, hoping to comfort the daughter of Pluto, but it only seemed to make her more worried.

The next guy stepped up and cleared his throat loudly. A bit too loudly, as if he were trying to force something nice out from his esophagus.

"My name is Jason Grace, son of Zeus, younger brother of Thalia Grace, member of the Fifth Cohort, and uhh...former praetor of the Twelfth Legion, I guess." Jason got quieter as he struggled to finish his sentence. Percy could only nod. He felt guilty for taking the guy's title. Like, really guilty.

Reyna cleared her throat and adjusted her purple cloak. She called her Pegasus, Scipio, and hopped gracefully onto it. "I hope you find that my fellow Romans treat you well. Have fun, half bloods." With that, she flew off into the cloudy sky.

Percy knew that last line was meant to be her own idea of a joke, but it seemed like she saying, "Show them around or face the other end of my dagger."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Leo asked anxiously. He looked at the Imperial Gold swords and Reyna's two dogs; Aurum and Argentum, and widened his smile. "I want to see this camp!"

Jason scoffed. "The camp or the weaponry shed?" he asked, walking away from the rest of the group.

Percy could barely hear Leo reply (only half joking), "Jason, would you kindly shut up and take me to where I want to go?"

**Yep, as you can see, minor adjustments...the next few chapter will have bigger and bigger revisions, but remember...this is NOT a rewrite xDDD**

**REVIEW PLEASE? :D**


	2. Coming Forth

**Haha! I have found that revising is a lot easier and quicker than rewriting xDD. Enjoy!**

_Jason_

"You have golden swords, golden spears, girls who make gold, and- oh!" Leo fumbled around in his pockets and took out a yellow helicopter. "Golden Pipe cleaners too!" He spun the top of the object and giggle childishly when it soared out of hands and landed gracefully on the ground.

Jason rolled his eyes. "If only you could've done that with the Argo II," he inadvertently muttered out loud. After he noticed that Leo was glaring at him quite threateningly, he quickly added, "But you know, that's not the most important thing to worry about...you did fine."

'Dodged a bullet there, Grace.' Jason thought himself, thankful that he didn't have an offended son of Vulcan who could produce fire at his heels.

"Reyna told us to meet everyone at the Senate Hall." Jason guided Leo to the grand, white building.

"Here she is." Jason smiled. Ever since he arrived at Camp Jupiter, he seemed to be gaining bits and pieces of his old life, and the Senate Hall was one of the first things he had recalled.

"So," Leo tried to attempt a conversation with his friend. "What _was _that weird coin you had again?" Leo asked as they entered the brightly lit room.

Bobby Matthews, a son of Vulcan, jumped up from his beige seat. His hair was messy and dark brown, like Leo's. His cheerful face was slender and tan, with dark brown eyes that gleamed with intelligence.

"You still have the coin I made for you, Jason?" he asked enthusiastically. He had always been a quite happy guy, ever since he was just a child.

Jason rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, about that...no." Bobby's face slowly morphed into one of confusion and slight anger.

"What?" The son of Vulcan exclaimed. He paced back and forth. Jason groaned, cursing himself for telling Bobby something that offensive.

'Dodged the first son of Vulcan's bullet, and I have another one coming right at me.' he thought to himself.

"I spent weeks making that for you, Grace! _Weeks!_ And it's made of Imperial _gold. _What exactly could have happened to it?"

Jason shifted his eyes around the room before he answered, "Well, see I was fighting this huge giant and it sorta...broke."

Bobby pursed his lips. "And did you kill the said giant?" he asked in a whisper. Jason hesitantly shook his head.

"THEN IT WAS FOR NOTHING?" Bobby was prepared to lunge at Jason, and the blonde boy yelped. Even though the son of Jupiter knew a beanpole wasn't going to harm him, he leaped out of the way to avoid injuries, and landed in the soft, purple curtains on the other side of the wall.

Reyna, on the other side of the room, had apparently decided to come to clear the chaos and she cleared her throat loudly. Leo slowly stopped laughing and got up from the floor. Percy entered, apologizing for being late, and took a seat on the raised stage in the middle of the room.

"Venite ad me!" Reyna commanded in Latin. (**Come to me)** Two metal dogs appeared out of nowhere and started running towards their leader. They skidded into the room and growled. Their ruby eyes glinted mischievously, their bodies shining as brightly as Apollo's sun chariot.

Piper's eyes bugged out of her head. "Is that real silver and- and gold?" she spluttered. Reyna nodded casually, as if it were mundane to see two dangerous canines that were made of valuable jewels.

Jason stared at the dogs, his mouth agape. "Aurum," he asked Reyna. "Argentum?" she nodded and he noticed a playful smile tug at her lips.

"Yes, Jason. I'm glad you remember them," Aurum came bounding over and knocked Jason to the marble floor. He panted loudly and licked Jason, careful not to tear him to shreds with his fang-like teeth.

"Because they certainly seem to remember you."

"Okay, down Aurum. Usque! (**Down**)" the dog finally hopped off and sat next to Reyna. The murderous glare returned to his blood red eyes.

Percy also cleared his throat and the chatter slowly died, the audience coming to attention.

"So is everyone accounted for at the council?" he asked. Bobby quickly took a head count and shook his head.

"Dakota isn't here, Percy." he informed the praetor.

"Okay, correction; Is everyone relevant present at the council?" Bobby sat back down, not able to say anything else. the council murmured quietly, most snickering at Dakota's irrelevant absence.

Jason snickered as well, suddenly remembering the sugar drunk teenager he used to be good friends with.

"Reyna." The praetor stood at Percy's words. He nodded, and they both turned to the most widely and publicly disliked person in all of Camp Jupiter's half bloods.

Jason had a feeling he knew who they were half glaring, half staring at.

"And Octavian?" Percy reluctantly called the augur's name.

Octavian snapped his white toga back into place and set his brown teddy bear down on the ivory table.

"Present, Jackson." Octavian scowled. Jason rolled his eyes.

He always got on my nerves, Jason thought. He wondered why the Camp still allowed him to stay the augur when all he did was cut up teddy bears and "read the stuffings."

"If you don't want to be here, just leave." Percy mumbled. Octavian didn't utter any words as he jumped up from his chair and cheerfully ran out the door.

"So we are gathered here today," Reyna started.

"To bond these two people in holy matrimony." Leo interrupted. The council suppressed a laugh, not wanting to anger their praetors.

. Reyna glared at him, and he held his hands in surrender."Couldn't help it...please, continue." Leo sat back down, refraining himself from cracking any more "class clown" jokes, as they liked to call it.

"Anyway, we're here to discuss the matters of Gaea," she announced. loudly. Everyone seemed to squirm upon hearing Mother Nature's name.

"And, since the seven half bloods are both Greek and Roman, we need to figure out how we can combine both...cultures you could say, and make pretty much one awesome strategy." Percy inquired, obtaining nods of approval and some sneers across the room."

Jason stood up bravely, and for the first time in a long time, everyone's eyes were focused on him.

"I think they shouldn't have such a big problem getting along." he said. Percy cleared his throat and pointed to the large, glass window uneasily. From the Senate Hall, they could faintly hear Rachel and Octavian arguing.

"We better go see what's going on," Reyna gathered her robes and hurried out the door, with a small crowd following her.

"My teddy bear says-"

"Listen, Octagon!" Rachel snapped, probably feeling a lot of hate for the sneering blonde headed teenager.

Jason had a bad feeling that a fight would be stirring up soon between the two "psychic" teens.

" It's Octavian, Ramone. Why can't you ever get my name right?"

" I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR PILLOW PET SAYS! I HAVE THE SPIRIT OF THE ORACLE INSIDE OF ME, SO I THINK I WOULD KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

"Your argument is falsely account for, my inferior companion." Octavian said haughtily, drawing a deathly glare from Rachel.

" My teddy bear is a licensed Beanie baby! Not a cheap Pillow Pet!" Octavian drew his knife and make a gash across the bear's stomach just to make a scene. White stuffing spilled out of its middle, creating a teddy bear gore fest. " And it clearly states that there is NO other prophecy but the next Great one!"

"There is, you idiot! There is another prophecy that will take place well before the Great!"

"No there isn't, you wouldn't know! You're lying about being the Greek Oracle! Her spirit died long ago; you're probably just another _sola mortalium_." **(Mere mortal)**

"Why you-"

Annabeth stood up and looked apologetically at Rachel. She then proceeded to close the curtains with a big flourish.

"Okay, just continue, guys."

Reyna looked at the window weirdly and wisely decided to move on.

"So let me ask you Percy, if your oracle and my...augur can't even get along, how will we expect the demigods to be any better?" she asked Percy. The son of Poseidon, however, was preoccupied with something Rachel had said.

Reyna had grown to be impatient waiting for her praetor's reply and crossed her arms. "Well?" she demanded.

"Wisdom's daughter walks alone, the mark of Athena burns through Rome." he muttered. Annabeth furrowed her brows.

"What?" she asked her boyfriend. Jason had guessed earlier that Percy wasn't known to spout out smart comments spontaneously, and judging from Annabeth's expression, he was probably right. Percy, however, looked at her and widened his eyes.

"Rachel!" he yelled over the rising conversation. He sprinted out of the Hall, and in his haste, tripped over his purple robes. Percy threw the large sheet over his head and raced frantically to the "battle grounds" outside.

Meanwhile. Jason looked slightly alarmed. "What was that all about?" he asked. What Percy has repeated just a minute ago did not sound settling.

"It's-nothing J-Jason." Hazel stuttered. Jason had a feeling she knew a little more than the rest of them, and he was determined to find out what.

The Senate hall quickly filed out and followed their leader.

They found him in a clearing where a disheveled redhead was sitting on a screaming boy.

"I surrender, Raymond!" Octavian shrieked.

"It's _Rachel,_idiot." Annabeth had discovered a new found respect for Rachel after said Oracle injured her least favorite Roman, and now decided to defend her.

"Thanks, Annabeth." Rachel smiled and blew her bangs from her eyes.

"So Rachel, what's that about a new pro-" Before Jason could finish, Percy grabbed Rachel by the shoulders. She seemed frightened and tried to get out of his grip.

"Wisdom's daughter walks alone, the mark of Athena burns through Rome. What else is there?" Percy whispered. He slowly let go of the Oracle.

"How-How did you-" Percy had only one answer for Rachel's question.

"Ella the Harpy is extremely special. She read the part of the Sibylline books that wasn't burned away." Octavian gasped.

"Really? I need to go see her-"

Percy interrupted him. "We're going to her. You are going back to your cave and cleaning your dagger to gut more teddy bears." Octavian narrowed his eyes and stomped away.

Jason didn't even try to stifle a laugh. Seriously, does this guy even have a life?

They reached her soon enough. They just had to follow the humongous footsteps that followed a trail of red bird feathers. She was predictably hanging out with Tyson, and they were sharing a jar of Skippy peanut butter.

Percy smiled. "Hey Ella," he said, getting her attention. "Like the peanut butter?"

"Peanut butter," Ella chirped. "Invented several hundred years ago by ancient Incas. In 1903 Dr. Ambrose Straub was known to make a machine especially for peanut butter and an unknown scientist patented peanut butter in 1980." The harpy blushed. "Ella likes peanut butter. So does Tyson. Tyson introduced peanut butter to Ella. Ella is grateful."

Percy rolled his eyes and chuckled. Reyna walked up to the couple confidently and smiled warmly, for the first time since the Greeks had arrived.

She must like Peanut Butter too, Jason decided in his head.

"We were wondering, Ella, if you could try to tell us everything you know about the Sibylline-"

Rachel suddenly staggered forward and her eyes misted over. Green smoke spouted from her body and Reyna gasped.

"What is she doing?" she started.

"The prophecy." Jason exclaimed, both nervous and excited.

_The one who builds will now deface,_

_The boy in fire will set his place ,_

_Wisdom's daughter walks alone,_

_The mark of Athena burns through Rome_

Rachel shook violently and collapsed onto the cold dirt.

Percy helped perch her on top of the wooden table. She groggily opened her eyes, now a normal emerald green, thank the gods.

"I'd almost forgotten how creepy that was." Jason panted, wiping a small but distinct bead of sweat from his head.

"Percy," Reyna said. She whispered something incoherent and he nodded. They walked up to the outside of the Hall, where the rest of the crew were told to wait.

Hazel looked anxiously at Reyna. "So?" she asked, her voice hopeful.

The two praetors looked grim. Percy stepped forward. He glanced at Annabeth, and she gave him a look back.

It's like they read each other's minds, Jason thought. He nodded approvingly.

Cool.

"Well, I've got some bad news, and bad news," he announced. "Which one do you want to hear first?"

**Well, hope ya enjoy this too! Third chapter coming up! Yep, THAT'S your SECOND bday present, but not your last, I am Jason Son of Jupiter :DD Please review! IF you got time to hit that alert button, you 've got time to review!**


	3. Decisions, Decisions

**Heya! yep, with I am Jason Son of Jupiter nagging me, I'm back again. and GUESS WHAT GUYS. For those of you who didn't lose faith in my promise...BAM. I HAVE AN ACTUAL BRAND NEW CHAPTER OF ROME'S DESCENT! Yep, I finished revising the two chapter I used to have online, and here's a NEW one. And Jason, this is your first early birthday present...FIRST :OOO Hopefully it doesn't disappoint LOL. And The-Daughter-OF-Rome...Well THERE YA GO :)**

_Hazel _

If Hazel hadn't known any better, she would that thought that Percy recently saw someone die, judging by his solemn expression.

"Well, I've got some bad news, and bad news," he announced. "Which one do you want to hear first?"

Hazel originally thought he was being sarcastic, but turns out, he was completely serious. there _was _no good news to spread around the camp.

"Let's hear bad first, then bad!" Leo joked around nervously, trying to lighten the mood of the tight Roman campers.

Annabeth stepped forward this time, and Hazel could visibly see Reyna's jaw clench.

Maybe she doesn't like Annabeth that much, Hazel concluded.

"Rachel, Camp Half Blood's oracle, has spoken another prophecy recently."

With Annabeth's words in mind, the throng of people gasped and murmured amongst themselves.

"What's the prophecy? Is it the Great Prophecy?" Dan, a son of Vulcan asked anxiously from the audience. Hazel gulped and although she knew it wasn't even near to the date of the Great Prophecy yet, she was still nervous to hear this one.

"No, thank the GODS it's not the Great one," Percy butted in, muttering about how he'd had enough of Great Prophecies for a while.

"Well...How about it then? What is it?" Hazel was beginning to grow impatient. She felt someone squeeze her hand reassuringly and saw that Frank stood beside her with a nervous smile.

Percy took a deep breath and called out,

_The one who builds will now deface,_

_The boy in fire will set his place ,_

_Wisdom's daughter walks alone,_

_The mark of Athena burns through Rome_

Silence fell over the crowd immediately after Percy uttered the last few words.

"It's her! It's Maria! I saw her doing something sketchy last night in her cabin!" Dan yelled to the audience, pointing his fingers at a petite brown haired teen standing in the corner.

"Stop it, Dan." Reyna snapped, sending an apologetic glance towards Maria.

"Yeah Dan!" A daughter of Apollo reprimanded her friend. "Besides," she hesitated to continue with so many pairs of eyes fixed upon her. "It said Daughter of.._Athena, _didn't it? Not Minerva? Why is that?" Octavian immediately rose from the crowd and pointed at Annabeth.

"I told you Reyna, but you wouldn't listen" he yelled out in triumph. "It's that Annabeth girl! She's the ONLY Daughter of Athena here! She is going to be responsible for the possible downfall of New Rome! _I _say we get rid of the Greeks now to prevent any more from happening!"

Hazel couldn't take it anymore, she just couldn't.

"Shut up Octavian! Shut up ALL of you," she cried out in anguish. "Fighting and arguing isn't going to get us anywhere, however cheesy it may sound. We need to ALL work together, whether we're Roman-" Hazel glared at Octavian. "OR Greek."

The crowd settled down and agreed silently. Octavian scowled for about the fifth time that day.

"Well, we still must establish the appropriate quest members," Reyna and Percy took over from thereon, trying to figure out who should go.

Hazel knew, though. She had a feeling she knew who should travel with Annabeth, since she was a definite member; But she hesitated to speak out her opinion, afraid of the criticism and arguing she was bound to bring up.

She looked at Frank for help and he only nodded, although Reyna had already begun to speak.

"So it is decided. Percy and I have approved of who shall go." she spoke loudly and clearly, and pointed to Annabeth.

"Annabeth, you will lead the quest, since you _seem _to have a large part in this." Annabeth turned red and attempted to make an excuse.

"Percy, you will accompany the members. Jason, you're next."

Jason widened his eyes incredulously. "Woah, back it up there Reyna," he exclaimed. "Me? But what about the camp? I have to help you!"

Reyna's eyes hardened. "I've led this camp eight months without you Grace-" Jason winced and nodded silently.

"I think I can handle a couple more days. Go." she softened, and sent a gesture of "Good luck" to him.

"Leo you will accompany them. You're a pretty good right hand man from what I've heard." Leo cried out in protest.

"What? No, Rey, I think you've got the wrong right hand man. I'm a left hand man, you can take someone else." he chuckled nervously, shifting his eyes around, not wanting to go onto another quest.

"The prophecy says something about the boy in fire, Leo. That's most obviously you." her eyes sparkled with amusement as Leo finally gave in, huffed, and disappeared into the crowd.

Hazel closed her eyes and prayed as hard as she could.

Please don't let it be Frank, please don't let it be Frank... She wished the absolute safety for her friend, and she couldn't bear to see him get injured, or worse-die.

"Hazel, you are also going, and Frank. You as well." Hazel's heart sank to the bottom of her stomach as both their names were called out.

"I hope you five realize that we've never had to choose campers before," Reyna announced. "But this is...a special occasion. You will pack tonight and leave at sunrise. Meet Lupa and I in front of the Entrance then. You are all dismissed." she said simply, descending from her seat and exiting with Percy, the two murmuring about the quest probably.

Hazel felt like she just ate a bad burrito. Her stomach flopped and she groaned, thinking about how she would survive this quest if she barely survived the other one.

She heard Percy gasp loudly and rushed back to the crowd before they dispersed.

"Guys! This quest...just asking, but what is it even about?" He sounded like he knew the answer, but he was waiting for someone to answer for him.

Even Reyna looked perplexed, as if it just dawned on her what the five members were even going to do there.

Great, Hazel sighed. I'm going on a quest that doesn't even have a purpose.

"I didn't think about that," Reyna admitted. "But they should be trying to just uhm...Wow. I didn't know it would be this hard."

Percy gulped and looked at Hazel with searching eyes, trying to get her to recall something.

But how can I remember something that I don't know-Hazel gasped loudly.

She swallowed down the random tears that threatened to fall and said as confidently as she could, "We..We need to free my brother, Nico."

Percy nodded, sighing and ruffling his hair. "I can't believe I forgot this until a moment ago, but yeah. Nico's been missing since a week ago, and we think he's been captured and taken hostage by Gaea when he was er...looking for the Doors of Death inside the Underworld."

Hazel nodded sadly. "And I'm pretty sure he's going to be dead in four days if we don't get him."

Percy looked at her confusedly. "How-How do you know _that? _

Hazel gulped. "Dream. Recurring dream." She winced, recalling the terrible memories. Leo nodded with empathy and interrupted with his own little speech.

"Well guys, it's been said. Tomorrow at sunrise, we leave for the quest to find Nico DiAngelo, the, in Annabeth's words, _idiot _son of Hades who decided to get himself captured and left us the burden of saving him."

**Sorry that was odd :DD It'll get better, I promise...Ish. Gosh, I should have added a couple more chapters before they went on the quest. It's all happening SO QUICKLY . R&R! Please...I need the reviews...**


	4. Onto Nowhere

**Yay, I'm beginning to really like this story. I don't think I EVER would have updated if it weren't for the AWESOMESAUCE The Daughter of Rome, and I am Jason Son of Jupiter. Thanks : p\**

And guys? Please, if you like the story (Gods, I sound needy,) You can review :p Anything...SERIOUSLY. I enjoy reviews, so ah, yeah.

_Jason_

If it weren't for the amazing invention of aspirin, Jason probably wouldn't have made it through the night.

He had his bag all packed, the inside filled with ambrosia, nectar, water, money, food, and some extra clothing, all compressed into a lightweight purple backpack.

His bed was made neatly in the morning, for fear that if he didn't come back at least the campers could look at his memory in decency.

Jason sighed. He knew being OCD wouldn't help take the worry off of his mind. He ruffled his hair and paced back and forth glancing at the clock occasionally. He didn't know it would be this hard, leaving Camp again after such a short reunion.

For Gods' sake, he's only just been to the Senate Hall and his praetor cabin.

The sky began to turn a slight pinkish orange, and that's when Jason knew it was time to head to the gates.

While on his very brief walk, he began to contemplate how they were going to rescue this Nico DiAngelo.

"Gods, I don't even know the guy and I'm risking my life to save his." Jason muttered, thinking about how odd the demigod lifestyle was. You didn't know the kid, but you have to save his butt anyway.

"Aw, don't be such a Debbie Downer, dude," Leo patted Jason loudly on his back. "C'mon, look at the bright side! At least we'll get to see the Underworld for the first time!" Jason gave him a wary look.

"Uhm, isn't Debbie Downer typically used for girls?" Hazel inquired, raising an eyebrow at Leo.

"Ah, same thing when it comes to Jason."

"Hey!"

Percy sighed and trudged towards the gates, gesturing for everyone to follow him.

'Gee, the guy looks really sad for someone who's so optimistic all the time.' Jason observed.

"First time in the Underworld saving my kidnapped mother? Not enough," he muttered dryly. "Second time in the Underworld to retrieve a whack sword? Not enough. Third time almost dying in the River Styx only to lose that power barely a year later? Not. Enough."

Leo tapped Jason's shoulder gingerly and whispered, "He seems to have a lot of bad encounters with the Underworld."

Jason sent him a look as if saying, 'Gee, you really think so?'

Leo sent a cheeky smile back saying, 'Yep, in case you haven't noticed.' Jason sighed and continued walking towards the gates. As soon as they passed the border, they would be on their way to Hell.

Literally.

He saw a short glimpse of something silver near the entrance, and he guessed it was Lupa. He tense a little bit, as he always did when going near Lupa. She was one scary, big, bad wolf indeed.

Her paws crunched the leaves nearby and bared her teeth in the form of a greeting.

"Jason," she smirked, if wolves were even capable of doing so. Even Reyna looked a bit afraid, as if one small breath out of line would make Lupa yell. She wouldn't, but it seemed so, and that was enough for even the worst behaving teenager to succumb to her intimidating look.

"Lupa," He greeted formally, hoping that he wouldn't be threatened with the warning of being torn to shreds again.

"Jason," she greeted back.

"I hear you half bloods are on a quest. I wish you the best of luck. Reyna," she snapped her head towards the praetor, and Reyna stumbled back a bit.

"Huh? Oh right. Well, this time, we can't give you any sort of direction really, other than get to the Underworld, free Nico, and come back as quickly as possible," she shifted uncomfortably. "And hopefully, there won't be any trouble for us."

Jason couldn't help but think about the way Reyna said it.

It sounded like she was implying, 'I hope you guys can find your way without any sort of instruction and come back in one piece without destroying the entire Camp, But I'm highly doubtful that will happen! Good Luck!'

Jason really didn't want to think about it that way; it made him scared. And being scared was a worse feeling than tripping up the stair and stubbing his toe.

"We'll do it Reyna, don't worry." Percy assured her, and she smiled.

"Good Luck, Percy. You Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, and Jason?" She questioned him. His ears perked up at the sound of his name "Yeah?" he responded.

She grinned for the first time in a long time. "Don't die on me, Sparky. As much as I hate to admit it, the camp needs you...and well, I need you. You're not even half as bad Octavian for a praetor." She shuddered visibly.

Jason chuckled and nodded his head empathetically. "Well, right back at ya. Oh by the way, tell Piper-"

"Tell me what, Jason?" A voice rang behind him ,and there was his girlfriends, smiles and all.

Piper's choppy brown hair had grown over the long trip to Camp Jupiter, and her face seemed to get a lot more beautiful. Her hair also got a bit darker, looking somewhat similar to Reyna.

he quickly shot down that thought.

"How's my uhm...How are you?" he stuttered. He always felt wrong uttering the words, My girlfriend; it just didn't seem right, considering their whole relationship was based on a lie.

However, during that last quest, Jason felt as if he felt some sort of connection he needed to uphold with Piper. And so, he hugged her and whispered, "I'll come back. I promise."

"You better not die on me, Sparky." Were the last words he heard from her until she ran up the hill and into her guest cabin. Jason felt a sudden case of serious Déjà Vu fall on him.

He shook his head and followed Annabeth out the camp, trying to get out that uncomfortable feeling that he felt when he realized what Piper had said

Bobby popped up from behind Reyna; he waved and yelled out, "Remember our promise with Rey, Grace! Never let go."

"Never let go? Did you get that from a Disney movie or something?" Percy asking, snickering at the juvenile quote.

Jason however, held his head high, feeling oddly proud. "We must uphold our promises, Percy," he lectured. "Especially when we pinkie promised on it."

Leo held up his hands in surrender. "Woah, a pinkie promise," he exclaimed humorously. "Watch out, we got a bad boy over here. Better not break that promise, or the playground gods will come and get you!" he warned ominously, stirring up laughs from everyone in the group.

Jason grinned goofily. "Yeah ,we had some pretty crazy times." he said, ending the conversation at that.

After a couple hours of walking, the sun was already blistering hot at around 8 in the morning.

"Gods, California's weird," Leo groaned, not used to the hot weather. He'd already stripped his Jacket and over shirt, leaving him in a white shirt and jeans.

"It's not bad once you get used to it," Annabeth exclaimed, basking in the warm sun.

"Haven't been in 'Frisco for a while." she looked a bit reminiscent, and Percy shot her an apologetic glance.

"Once again with the mind reading," Leo reminded the two, and they laughed. The six continued walking, and pretty soon, Percy asked the taboo question; "So uhm, how are we supposed to get to the Underworld from here?" he asked, looking seriously clueless.

Jason hadn't thought about that.

"Annabeth," he asked. "You're the leader...got any ideas?"

Percy looked as if he were going to suggest something, but Annabeth immediately shot him down with one look, probably knowing what he was going to say.

The daughter seemed to ponder for a minute, and said, "Well, I don't know about here, but there's an entrance in Hollywood. It's sealed off by now, most likely, but I think we could still find a way in. the most convenient would still be to find one here though."

The group was stumped. After a long silence, Jason suggested they find somewhere to stay the night and think out it.

It was a unanimous vote, and the completely inconspicuous large group of sketchy looking teens set off to find a safe sanctuary to stay.

This was SUCH a filler chapter...it'll get good next chapter, I PROMISE.

**LOL, Bad ending. But Chapter 5 shall come up soon! PLEASE. IF YOU LIKE IT, REVIEW,FAVORITE, AND/OR ALERT :DDD Thanks.**


	5. Taking it On

**I'm back :DDD This story is flowing out of me like water...so is Warning: Severely Poisonous. So, get ready for an update on that as well...**

**THANK YOU, OH AWESOMESAUCE READERS ^.^ My visitors and alerts went up by half and I'd like it if you keep hope with this story, even if I may not update very long.**

Percy

It was about midnight when they had reached the destination of their dreams. It was a considerably cozy patch in the forest, and it had lots of greenery where it could isolate them from any unwanted visitors.

Percy liked it, although he wasn't sure if anyone else did. That didn't really matter though; he and Annabeth had prepared more than enough sleeping necessities for every member of the quest.

"Well, we packed some sleeping necessities for you guys so...knock yourselves out," Annabeth announced, tossing the numerous jumbo sized Ziplocs on the dirt floor. They weren't just gallon sized, though. they were ten times the size of it in width, with random things packed into it.

Leo looked from the six huge plastic bags to Annabeth and Percy's tiny JanSport packs.

"How does that-" he gestured to the silver bags. "Fit into something like...that?" His fingers went to the backpacks, and Annabeth shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's an age old innovation, really," she replied, picking at her grey backpack zipper. "I just picked it up from my mom a couple years ago." Leo's mouth gaped open, and he mouthed, 'Sweet.'

"The stuff in here is just stuff I picked up from the Hecate cabin so we can set up a shield. Something to protect us from the monsters." she described the odd ingredients in the bag.

"Since, we're not magical like them, we create stuff like this." Leo nodded approvingly, taking a bag for himself.

Percy himself couldn't believe what Annabeth had done to his backpack. There was practically no end space in there; he could fit anything he wanted to, from a pack of strawberries to an ice box filled with a packs worth of water and it would still be as light as an empty mass of space.

'Sometimes, it's really cool that I have a genius as a girlfriend,' he thought, thankful for Annabeth's quick mind to bring all this stuff. He guessed that she just didn't feel like sleeping with one eye open and a dagger in her hand all the time.

"Gee thanks, Annabeth." Jason exclaimed, grinning and choosing a bag for himself. Annabeth seemed to smile after being complimented for something she did.

It seemed that everyone was interested in the new addition to the quest rather than actually mapping out the quest itself. Only Hazel, Percy observed, was secluding herself from her chattering friends.

'Maybe she ate a bad burrito,' Percy contemplated, smiling when he recalled those burritos from The Dam snack bar. He remembered Zoe as well, her old English speaking, the way she would get easily frustrated. Her demise really wasn't expected, and Percy had honestly almost wanted to cry that day.

And the immense pain he had to go through holding up the sky, and the relief of finding Annabeth, although she was half dead at the time...yep, that probably wasn't the best day to remember when he was currently on a possibly life threatening quest.

He settled down into his patch of dirt while Annabeth put some sort of shimmering seal around the campsite.

"So that's what it looks like?" Percy asked curiously, referring to the shield. Annabeth replied, "Yep. It's just a technique I learned from my mother. It should keep all unwanted monsters away for at least 12 hours. But I can only do it once every year." She shrugged. "Too much energy. And this felt like a good time to use it."

"So like, a temporary Camp Half Blood borderline thing?" Percy blurted out randomly, all the while thinking, 'That would have been so convenient to know a couple years ago , Athena.'

"Percy couldn't help but think how different this quest was form others. They had magic charms first of all, but also...they had no idea where they were going, and he felt a bit anxious to see where they would end up.

Hazel finally walked up to Percy and they sat down together after everyone was asleep.

"Hey," he nudged Hazel, trying to elicit some sort of reaction from her. She turned and raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

"What's got you down?" He asked tentatively, afraid he would somehow offend her.

"Ah...nothing. Just a bad thought about Nico." Hazel gulped heavily, most likely thinking about Nico, Percy silently concluded.

"Well, tell me about it," he coaxed her, trying to find out what's been bugging her. She really hasn't been the same since the Greeks came, and Percy wanted to change that, get rid of the barrier of awkwardness she held with them sometimes. Particularly Annabeth, since she was leading the quest.

Hazel squirmed around, not being able to focus on Percy. She reminded Percy of himself when he was about 13; Still new to the whole half blood concept, what with all of the quests he was to go on.

It really wasn't his cup of tea at the time, but he finally accepted the fact that his life wouldn't be changing very much from then on.

A large crash was heard in the distance of the forest. Percy spun around and looked around cautiously, not being able to locate the noise.

"Stay here, Hazel," he warned, taking out Riptide, his trusty pen. Annabeth appeared beside him with her polished dagger in hand, subconsciously defending Percy's lower back, his Achilles spot.

'There's no point in trying to defend it, Annabeth. I could get hit from anywhere else on my body and still suffer the same damage." He said with his jaw clenched.

Annabeth looked at him in surprise, but he gave her a look that said, 'I'll explain later; First, let's get rid of the baddies that are bound to appear anytime.'

Then it was silent. No crashing, no rustling. Nothing. But Leo yelled, "Guys! Duck down!" For no apparent reason. Percy did so anyway, as did everyone.

"There's nothing here, Leo! What are you hollering about?" he asked curiously, when he didn't find anything suspicious after observing his surroundings.

Suddenly, a large tree trunk flew out of nowhere and would've hit Percy squarely in the chest if he hadn't jumped out of the way. He wondered how Leo would've seen that coming from so far away. Then, he squinted in the direction it was thrown, and the moment he saw who threw it, he wished he wouldn't have.

"Well well, who do I have here?" she laughed and strode closer to Percy. He gulped and observed the girl. She looked so familiar.

She was a pretty African American girl, with hair curly like Medusa's. As Percy thought that, he could've sworn he sensed some Déjà Vu going on with the way he described her.

'Where have I seen her before?' he wondered to himself.

"Who are you?" Jason asked bravely, his eyes hardening into a rocky glare. The girl smiled. "Jason grace," she announced, walking closer to him and caressing his face. "Such a handsome face...What a shame to destroy you." she whispered.

"Let him go!" Percy growled, letting Riptide grow into its Celestial bronze form. The peppy girl looked at him for a brief moment and her mouth gaped open.

"Percy Jackson." She didn't say it like a question, but rather a statement. "Why?" Percy asked lamely, cursing to himself why everyone seemed to love to kill him.

"You don't remember me?" the girl looked sarcastically offended, and put a hand to her heart. 'Well you do look familiar,' Percy thought. He turned the wheels in his head and tried desperately, but she just didn't ring a bell.

She pouted. "Maybe this will jog your memory." The girl's eyes glowed brightly and her hair burst into bright red flames, her skin transforming into an almost translucent white.

She tore off the bottom of her long navy skirt, revealing two mismatched legs, one bronze and one donkey.

She took off her jacket, and beneath it was a charred and tattered uniform that had the letters, "GH" stitched on.

Percy's mouth gaped open. "Seriously," he spluttered, surprised at the turnout of events. "Out of all the monsters that could come back and haunt me..it's the dracaena from 9th grade." Now identified, Kelli smiled.

"Aw, you remember me now," she cooed. "Now you can remember me forever as the one to who killed the legendary hero, Percy Jackson." she sprinted towards Percy and jumped, thrashing her hands around, managing to scrape his left eye.

With one hand clutched onto his eyelid, he swung Riptide back and forth randomly, hoping to get Kelli. She dodged easily and pinned him down by the wrists. Jason growled and charged with his sword, but was held back by a strange force.

Kelli stared into his eyes intently and suddenly, Percy's head started to throb wildly. He gasped in pain and felt a searing burn across the back of his head.

"Wanting to defeat Gaea I hear?" she laughed. "Don't worry sweetie. I can read it from your thoughts. You're determined, huh?" she smiled evilly. "Well, I'm afraid one wins a fight with more than just determination."

Her eyes suddenly turned a bright, blood red and her teeth, Percy observed, seemed to grow just a little sharper.

" Woah." Leo gasped, widening his eyes. "Uh this is unexpected..." Jason rolled his eyes and gave Leo a 'Seriously?' look.

Her nails turned into sharp claws and she attempted to slash Percy's neck until something threw her off of him. Percy scrambled up and, using his limited vision, he located Kelli and held her at sword point.

"In case you haven't noticed," he noted. "I'm not in 9th grade anymore. Therefore, I can kill you without a second thought." His sword sank deep into her throat and he expected her to turn into gold dust immediately. But before she did, she whispered softly, "I wasn't alone, Perseus Jackson."

"Uh what. Did that freaky fire lady just mean what I think she meant?" Leo asked confusedly. Percy wasn't so sure, until he heard a loud clang of metal from the front.

Jason pointed nervously at the huge crowd of dracaena approaching them. "Uh guys," he noted obviously. "I think we have a problem."

Percy gritted his teeth. "No schist, Jason." he commented dryly, uncapping Riptide yet again. Annabeth sent him a confused look, but eventually focused her attention on the monsters that were quickly coming upon them.

Frank scurried to the front and readied his bow, a seemingly determined look on his face. "Any battle plan, praetor?" he asked, his eyes still trained on the monsters.

Percy shrugged. "Don't die." And with those comforting words in mind, they charged.

**This was nothing like how I imagined this chapter to be but...enjoy it? REVIEW AND ALERT AND FAVORITE :DDD**


	6. Following the Battle Plan

**Yay for chapter 6! I hope you liked your oneshots, I-Am-Jason-Son-Of-Jupiter...**

**Well, guys..review, alert, and favorite! Only if you like it, of course..LOL :DD**

Hazel looked tentatively at her weapon and the monsters. She didn't know if she could go on fighting anymore, she had already attempted to hack through multiple.

She gasped for air as one of the dracaena's hands clasped around her neck. Leo sliced the monster in half and screamed a battle cry. It went a little something like, "EURGH YOU FILTHY BEAST!"

"Thanks." she praised Leo, and he nodded. HIs hands caught on fire and he yelled, "Flame on!" mocking that popular video game that most 8 year olds watched. 'I think it was called Ben 10?' Hazel thought, shaking her head for getting off track.

Another monster hissed and lashed out at her while she was being unfocused. Hazel cursed herself for letting her mind get the best of her. This one, Hazel observed, looked a little different. She had purple eyes and two furry legs.

She clambered on top of Hazel and stroked her neck. "You," she hissed in a way that made the daughter of Pluto squeamish.

"You're supposed to be dead aren't you," she laughed cruelly. "But then again." her claws dug itself deep into Hazel's neck."

"All the children of the God of the Underworld are supposed to be dead...your little brother's going to pay his fee for living in the wrong generation." Hazel squirmed and tried desperately to escape.

She could see the panic in Percy's eyes nearby as he tried to get closer to her, all the while fending off crazy snake ladies.

"Wh-What do you mean?" she asked lamely, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You can bid farewell to Nico DiAngelo, Hazel Levesque." she started, chuckling softly. Hazel couldn't believe what she was hearing. 'There's no way Nico could be dead,' she tried to convince herself that he was stronger than that, not even Gaea could take him down so quickly.

"Hazel! Duck down!" Leo yelled for the second time that hour. She rolled her head to the side just as a flaming fireball hit the dracaena. She screeched and turned into glittery gold dust, right on top of Hazel.

She coughed and brushed the dust off of her, thanking Leo with her eyes. "No problem," he winked, then whacked the head off of a snake woman with a Celestial Bronze hammer he found in his belt.

He twirled it fondly. "I feel like Thor." he proclaimed, moving on to another monster. Hazel rolled her eyes. "Only you could joke at a time like this." Hazel yelled over the banging metal.

She saw Annabeth cover her ears. "GODS, what _is_ that?" she screamed. Hazel almost couldn't take it either, and Percy, she could see, was also being sidetracked by the noise.

Frank, who was nearby, gasped and quickly found his way into Hazel's hand, pulling her behind him. She looked at him and he pointed to the sky. From there, she could see a huge, bronze stick.

No, it wasn't a stick...there were two. And a rectangle on top of it as well. She could hear Jason gasp. "What the Hades..." he muttered, not bothering to correct himself.

Hazel could hear Percy gulp from a couple feet away. The dracaena were slowly retreating now, as if scared by the noise. Something roared, and Hazel almost fell over when she saw what it was.

A large, bulky, bronze moving statue was swinging an equally large club around the perimeter of the forest. It roared, causing the ground to shake slightly.

"What is that thing?" Hazel shrieked, rolling over when the club just barely missed her. "It's...it's an automaton." Percy stated incredulously, beckoning fro everyone to stay behind him and Annabeth.

"Guys, keep cover," he shouted, ducking the automaton's crushing blows. "We'll take care of this." Leo jumped up over the bush he was hiding in. "No way, dude," he claimed, letting his hands become surrounded by a ring of fire.

"You're not going to die alone."

"Hey Leo. What was my battle plan again?"

"Er...Don't die?"

"Exactly." Annabeth and Percy nodded, and it seemed that, in their minds, they had already formed some sort of strategy.

Hazel watched from behind as the trio struggled to do whatever they were planning to do with the large statue. She couldn't believe it. The first day, and they already have trouble. She couldn't help but wonder if this automaton was similar to the one she saw in her blackout.

Her recent blackouts had become less regular and more of a sporadic occasion. But when it happened, it wasn't her memory, It seemed to be like a nightmare, always having something to do with Nico or Percy.

She couldn't help but wonder if those dreams she had were their memories. It seemed logical, seeing as how Nico used to tell stories about the day he almost tried to kill Percy because of some haywire robot that went loose and killed his sister.

"Annabeth," Percy shouted. "I'm going to do it. I'm gonna get inside that thing!"

"No!" she rejected his idea quickly, shaking her head. "Remember when Bianca tried it? I'm not letting you do that to yourself!"

Hazel furrowed her brows. Bianca...she did that?

Suddenly, a painful blow snapped her out of her thoughts and threw her onto the ground. She whimpered at the excruciating pain. Her head throbbed as if there was someone playing a bass drum inside of it.

"Hazel!" Frank widened his eyes and rushed to her aide. She squinted her eyes as Frank's image became fuzzier and fizzer. Although she was almost a hundred percent sure it wasn't because of the hit to the head.

She felt herself slipping, and in to the past she went.

She looked at her surroundings. It looked like a huge pile of thrown away gold. She gasped, picking up a beautiful crown. This stuff...It's amazing.

"Must be a junkyard of the Gods if anyone else could throw these things away." Hazel muttered, marveling at the valuable items.

She heard voices in the distance, an she decided to follow them. Suddenly, she tripped and when she got back up, she wasn't the same Hazel...In fact, she seemed to be looking _down _at...Percy? He seemed younger, and he was fighting against..Hazel gased.

"That's the automaton we're fighting." she whispered hoarsely. So Percy fought against it before.

~~~~~~~~ She decided to observe the group.

"How? You'll have to stand under its foot! You'll be crushed!"

"Distract it," Percy said. "I'll just have to time it right."

Bianca's jaw tightened. "No. I'll go."

"You can't. You're new at this! You'll die."

"It's my fault the monster came after us," she said. "It's my responsibility. Here." She picked up the little god statue and pressed it into Percy's hand. "If anything happens, give that to Nico. Tell him… tell him I'm sorry."

"Bianca, no!"

But she wasn't waiting for him. She charged at the monster's left foot.

Bianca got right next to the giant's foot, trying to balance herself on the metal scraps that swayed and shifted with his weight.

Zoe yelled, "What are you doing?"

"Get it to raise its foot!" Thalia said.

Zoe shot an arrow toward the monster's face and it flew straight into one nostril. The giant straightened and shook its head.

"Hey, Junk Boy!" Percy yelled. "Down here." Hazel snorted. So his comebacks were _always _that lame.

Percy ran up to its big toe and stabbed it with his sword. The magic blade cut a gash in the bronze.

Unfortunately, Hazel observed, his plan worked. Talos looked down at me and raised his foot to squash him like a bug. Percy apparently didn't see what Bianca was doing. He tried to turn and run. The foot came down about two inches behind him and he was knocked into the air.

Hazel looked on in panic, fearful for what was about to happen. She heard a distant voice calling her name, but she decided to ignore it.

Percy hit something hard and sat up, dazed. I'd been thrown into an Olympus-Air refrigerator.

The monster was about to finish Percy off, but a faun somehow dug himself out of the junk pile. He played something that looked like pipes frantically, and his music sent another power line pole whacking against Talos' thigh. The monster turned. The faun should've run, but he must've been too exhausted from the effort of so much magic. He took two steps, fell, and didn't get back up.

"Grover!" Thalia and Percy both ran toward him, but Hazel knew they'd be too late.

The monster raised his sword to smash Grover. Then he froze.

Talos cocked his head to one side, like he was hearing strange new music. He started moving his arms and legs in weird ways, doing the Funky Chicken. Then he made a fist and punched himself in the face.

"Go, Bianca!" Percy yelled.

Zoe looked horrified. "She is inside?"

The monster staggered around, and I realized we were still in danger. Thalia and Percy grabbed Grover and ran with him toward the highway. Zoe was already ahead of us. She yelled, "How will Bianca get out?"

The giant hit itself in the head again and dropped his sword. A shudder ran through his whole body and he staggered toward the power lines.

"Look out!" Percy yelled, but it was too late.

The giant's ankle snared the lines, and blue flickers of electricity shot up his body. The giant fell back into the junkyard, and his right hand fell off, landing in the scrap metal with a horrible CLANG!

His left arm came loose, too. He was falling apart at the joints.

Talos began to run.

"Wait!" Zoe yelled. They ran after him, but there was no way we could keep up. Pieces of the robot kept falling off.

The giant crumbled from the top down: his head, his chest, and finally, his legs collapsed. When we reached the wreckage we searched frantically, yelling Bianca's name. We crawled around in the vast hollow pieces and the legs and the head. We searched until the sun started to rise, but no luck.

Zoe sat down and wept. Hazel was stunned to see her cry. From all of the stories she heard from Percy.

Thalia yelled in rage and impaled her sword in the giant's smashed face.

"We can keep searching," he said. "It's light now. We'll find her."

"No we won't," The faun said miserably. "It happened just as it was supposed to."

"What are you talking about?" Percy demanded.

He looked up at me with big watery eyes. "The prophecy. One shall be lost in the land without rain."

Hazel gasped.

Here they were in the desert. And Bianca di Angelo, although Hazel didn't even know her that well, she was gone.

Hazel awoke with a gasp and heard Frank calling her name repeatedly.

"you-You blacked out there." he commented. he pointed dryly to the automaton, and Hazel turned around just in time to see Percy climbing into the automaton.

"Percy no!" She cried out, but refrained from doing so. the prophecy said nothing about a son of Poseidon...nothing could happen to him...right?

Something happened inside the robot and it groaned. It ran around wildly, and just like in Haze_l's _blackout, the robot's joints started falling off. Hazel silently hoped Percy wouldn't suffer the same fate as Bianca.

The robot crackled with electricity, and fell with a heavy thump onto the packed dirt. After several minutes, Annabeth crawled out from the bush she was hiding in when the monster fell. Her face was smeared with soot, and she frantically tore the foot apart, searching for Percy

After several minutes, she came to no avail. Hazel looked at her with sympathy, but felt tears welling up in her own eyes as well.

Suddenly, someone coughed behind them, and they turned around. there Percy was, clothes torn and several gashes along his shoulder. He was breathing heavily, and he collapsed onto the floor, his sword clanging somewhere into the distance.

The crowd rushed towards him, and as Hazel felt his heartbeat, she observed that it was very, very faint.

"Well, at least he followed his battle plan." Hazel thought grimly.

**So that was long...Who noticed a familiarity, in the middle of the chapter? :pp**

**Kay. ENJOY AND REVEIW AND FAVORITE AND...ALERT :P If you like it.**

**Thanks!**


	7. Reliable Info

**Another chapter? Yes. Yes it is. So, hope you haven't given up hope because my chapter 5 and 6 SUCKED.**

**So yeah. Enjoy this wonderful tale, my fellow brethlings (If you guys heard that from I-Am-Jason-Son-Of-Jupiter, Well it's mine. I made it up for him :p)**

_"Well...what do we have here?" a raspy voice whispered lowly in the distance. Jason whipped around, trying to locate the sound. It was useless. The person seemed to invisible or something._

_Then, he took in his surroundings. It was a vast, dark room, with dimly lit torches. The decorations were ornate, yet dark and twisted. It was so eerie, it seriously seemed like the Underworld to Jason. The voice hissed once again, and Jason shook his head in annoyance._

_"Tell me who you are." he demanded, narrowing his eyes. the voice didn't respond to him, but to someone else. "I hear your friends are coming to recue you." the voice, identified as a woman now that Jason could hear it better, laughed cruelly._

_A boy who looked around fourteen was crouched on the floor and in shackles; his clothes were torn up and ragged, n his hair fell to the side of his wan face._

_He looked like Death himself, Jason thought grimly, wincing at the deep gashes he saw on the boy's wrists and face._

_"They're going to destroy you." The boy growled, lifting his face from the shadows. He had eyes so dark, they appeared to be onyx, and a seriously dangerous looked etched on his face, Jason observed quietly._

_"Oh really," the voice sounded amused. "Do tell how. Please." The guy swallowed and glared at whoever-or whatever the voice belonged to._

_"If your other schemes all failed previously, what makes you think something as risky as your current plan would even work?" The boy asked smugly, wincing when an invisible weapon of some sort whipped hi. Jason felt queasy just looking at the bright contrast between the boy's sickly pale face and the bright dripping of crimson blood._

_Whoever this chick is, better avoid her.' he thought._

_"Silence, boy," she growled. "Soon, your friends-if they even survive that long- come to me. And then," she mused. "I can finally have the honor of killing Jason Grace and Perseus Jackson. All in a day's work." she chuckled._

_"Doesn't that sound splendid, Nico DiAngelo? Watching your friends die at the hand of Gaea, Mother of the Earth!" she proclaimed. Jason furrowed his brows. "Gaea." he whispered, realizing that Nico was the kid they were supposed to find._

_"Who's there?" Gaea hissed. Several dozen dracaena then appeared. Jason had enough of those monsters. He screamed, "Come on, if any time's the time to get out of a dream, it's NOW."_

Jason woke up with a start, wondering how he'd gotten to be unconscious. He tried to sit up, because of the awkwardness he felt with all the people surrounding him, but felt a searing pain in his chest. He looked down and saw that Annabeth was applying a fresh bandage around his ribs.

"Gods, what happened?" he groaned, not being able to recall what the robot did.

Annabeth smiled reassuringly. "You got hit with the sword of Talos, Jason. Its fine, a little ambrosia and lots of rest will definitely make you..uhm...mobile."

Gee, Jason thought sarcastically. At least make me mobile? Awesome!

"Well, you're not the only one, Jase." Hazel looked at him with a grimace, and he saw some dried blood crusted on the side of her face.

Percy crouched near Jason, and Frank did so with Hazel. "Hey," he asked worriedly. "You sure you alright? I mean you went down pretty hard."

"I'm fine." Jason commented, wincing not because of the pain, but because of how much of a "hero" he must have looked flying face down into the dirt, and sleeping there like a helpless cat.

"Are you sure? I mean, you fell down _really _hard. You were flying around, trying to get his attention and then he swatted you like a miniscule fly, dude. It looked painful." Percy nodded sincerely while Jason glared at him.

"On the bright side," Leo quipped. "At least you and Percy followed the battle strategy!"

"Yeah Jackson, I thought you got injured too."

"Well I was trying to break the wires of a huge million ton robot from the inside of an overheated room and eventually got electrocuted. You were flying around like a pixie and even dropped your sword in the process."

"Oh shut up." Percy snickered and gave him a joking smile, which he gratefully returned.

Jason, after a long silence, squirmed uncomfortably. He was trying to figure out what that dream meant. It's probably nothing, he concluded eventually. Besides, if I get another dream alter on, then I'll do something about it.

Realizing that it wasn't a safe place to stay any longer, Jason suggested that the group head out west towards Hollywood.

The group trudged along the dirt packed road, crunching leaves as they passed by.

"So, where are we going next?" Annabeth asked, looking down at the floor. He felt a bit of pity towards her; she was leading a quest with a destination that no one knew of.

"Uh...Hollywood?" Percy guessed lamely, shutting his mouth when Annabeth looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"But Reyna said there was a closer entrance," she argued. "One that takes less time. And trust me guys, time is the only thing we're fighting right now." Jason pursed his lips and tried to think of some time he had ever possibly gone to the Underworld in his former life...or at least, the part of his life that he could barely remember.

He closed his eyes and tried to think back as far as he could go. "Okay, uhm..." ANnabeth looked at him with a hopeful expression.

"Yeah?" she asked optimistically.

"I think there could be a..." Jason stopped abruptly. "Yeah, never mind. I have no idea." he looked hopefully at Frank and Hazel, but got equally negative responses.

Half an hour went by with silence. One hour elapsed with a few conversations. Then, at one and a half hours with no more than 50 words combined, Leo spoke up.

"I uhm...I had a vision." he started quietly, which was odd for someone as flamboyant as him. "I mean, I don't get these sort of things often," he said quickly. "But this hairy and smelly dude came up to me and told me that we would find a closer somewhere...not in Hollywood. I think. Unless Hollywood's the only one you guys want to go to."

Jason furrowed his eyebrows, and he looked at the quest members for any clue. Nothing.

"Is that all he said, Leo?" he asked curiously. Leo made an odd gesture with his fingers, symbolizing that he only remembered some of it.

"Well, I think it went loosely along the lines of...uhm..._Be warned, Leo Valdez, for there be dangers that lie ahead."_

Wait," Frank asked confusedly. "So this dude in your dream was some sort of physic poet?" Leo nodded enthusiastically.

"It was so cool! He was like, Robert Frost, but older and smellier. Anyway, then he said something like, _ In your quest for truth and knowledge, there comes a hefty price. Dangerous or not, I cannot say, but be sure to be wary of Hallows Day. Hades' spawn will fall or rise on the day of the dead, with or without a compromise._

Percy raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like this guy was just randomly rhyming together words so that he'd sound cooler." he stated blatantly, stirring up laughs from everyone. Jason chuckled light heartedly. "Well, it still doesn't tell us where to go," he half complained.

Leo pouted. "I was getting there Grace. Gee, keep your knickers untwisted before absolutely necessary will ya?" he asked jokingly. Jason glared at him, but gestured for him to go on. This time, Leo looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Well, it said we'd find it in the land of no rest, the state of no riches...whatever that means." he muttered. Jason looked around and saw that no one else had a clue what he was talking about either.

"Stupid confusing dude in my dream's got me all...well, confused. Schist." Leo pouted. Percy chuckled. "What," he asked defensively. "You guys all use it and _I don't _like being left out." he said in a half kidding tone.

Annabeth, who had been silent for quite a while now, got up from the rock she was sitting on and brushed off the dirt off of her jeans. "Well, let's head uhm..." she looked at the sky, and Jason wondered how that was going to help her.

"East. Let's just get to Hollywood first and try to enter from there. I have a feeling we'll find out where to go soon enough." she said hesitantly and unconvincingly.

"Gee, such reliable information, Annabeth." Leo rolled his eyes and Annabeth punched him.

"Owww!" he groaned, caressing his shoulder. Annabeth looked at him with an odd face. "That was a light punch, Valdez." she commented. He sniffled.

"Well, your light punches are like my hard punches time six point five."

"Let's just go, Leo."

Jason followed the bunch, and while they were walking, he couldn't help but wonder how in Pluto they were going to find...well, Pluto.

**So that was a REALLY crappy chapter, but hang tight! It'll get better soon! REVEIW, FAVORITE, AND UH...ALERT. If you like this story :p**


	8. Open 247

**OKAY. I think this MIGHT get better...And for a heads up, if I can manage to elongate this, it'll be at most around 20 chapters, but DON'T get excited now...It'll most likely be around 13, 14 chapters...now if you want it to end already, then it'll be NO problem for you LOL. Enjoy, my awesomesauce readers (Wow, it's really catching on, huh? If anyone wants to make a fan club about me ya know...NO, I'm kidding : p)**

Annabeth was glad they had made it a couple miles without being attacked by any more dracaena or resurrected automatons.

"Seriously, don't they ever just take a coffee break?" Leo whined soon after they had taken down Talos and gotten enough rest to continue on.

The group had walked several..._dozen _more miles before they picked a specific location to rest. Everyone walked off on their own, picking at leaf branches (Jason,) shooting fireballs at a puddle of water (Leo,) or just sitting down near the mouth of a river (Percy.) Hazel was somewhere among the shadows, doing Gods know what.

Annabeth was left in the center, as she had been the past few weeks. Who was she, out of Jason or Percy, to lead this quest? Had it been her dream to do something this big? well, yeah, but it wasn't the same thing.

Annabeth suddenly felt really weighed down by the object in her pocket. She was reaching out to grab it and inspect it, but thought better of herself. No need for anyone to question her about it.

Athena, the day before the Argo II was scheduled to take flight, had given her a strange gift, as well as an even weirder command.

"Follow the Mark of Athena, Annabeth. Avenge me." after that, she vanished into thin air and left Annabeth feeling confused as ever.

She sighed and looked around hesitantly before reaching in her pocket again. At that moment, Leo sprang up behind her. "What are you doing, Annabeth?" he asked jauntily, trying to see what was in her hand. She shoved it back in her pocket.

"Nothing, Leo," she said exasperatedly. "Let's go."

Walking for miles at a time really didn't help Annabeth's everlasting headache; she just didn't know what to do at a time like this in the middle of a quest. Her thoughts ran back to the gift and she visibly scowled.

It's that thing that's been keeping her up at night and occupying her thoughts during the day, preventing her from actually thinking about the quest. Her mother hadn't even told her what the freaking thing was, let alone how to harness it.

An when Leo wanted to know what it was, she was _so _tempted to confide in him. But she held back. No need for him to freak out and be paranoid of her forever (Because he was highly capable of doing so.)

Annabeth noticed that today, everyone else was well...more quiet than normal, so she took this small golden opportunity to think about everything that would-or wouldn't-be happening.

The one who builds will now deface. Annabeth shuddered when she heard of that line, as she was the only one in the quest group who like to build things. Unless the Oracle was speaking of building friendships, in which case Percy would be the one to win by a landslide.

But then she realized that her life wasn't like Barney, and so that assumption wouldn't do.

The boy in fire...well, that could only be Leo, Annabeth mused, stealing a glance at the curly dark haired boy. With his jubilant face and elf like features, it's a bit hard to imagine him as a super ultra powerful boy who took a huge part in the prophecy.

Yeah...no.

Wisdom's daughter walks alone, the Mark of Athena burns through Rome? Yikes. Annabeth loathed that line, and even more when everyone started pointing fingers at her. The Mark of Athena...isn't that exactly what her mother had ordered her to avenge? Or something like that...

Could that be it? Could Annabeth be the sole person to destroy the legacy of New Rome, or even worse...kill everyone in the process?

She shuddered at the mere thought of it and decided not to think about depressing thoughts at a time like this.

Though it only felt like a couple hours, apparently they had almost reached Hollywood. Annabeth took this opportunity to gaze at the clear skies and tall palm trees of Southern California, and a sort of not so awesome nostalgia came upon her. "This place brings back...uhm, memories." Percy said softly, frowning at the familiar looking hill.

"Or really? What brought you guys to the Underworld entrance?" Leo asked, hoping for a story. Percy rolled his eyes. "I came here to play Go Fish with Hades, Leo. Seriously, what _else _would I do in the Underworld?"

"Uhm...die?"

Percy gave him an obvious look and Leo snickered. "Well, it's true...I mean, what _else _would you do in the Underworld?" he mocked. Percy shook his head and left it at that.

"Well, at least we can all count on Percy and Leo to have a good laugh."Jason said, relieved. He also had a smile on his face. Hazel giggled.

"Well Jason, I hear _you _were quite the riot yourself." she complimented, emphasizing on the word, "riot." Annabeth looked at her confusedly.

Jason gaped his mouth open. "that was a COMPLETE accident, okay? Let it go!" he whined, pouting when she stuck her tongue out at him.

"I don't know think I'm going to ask." Annabeth chuckled.

"Good. Cause I don't think you'd want to know." Jason shot back, giving her a challenging look. She scoffed. "A challenge against me? I'll save you the embarrassment and reject your challenge, Grace." He kept quiet after that.

Percy pointed to the top of the mountain. "There it is," he exclaimed, squinting against the bright UV rays.

"Yup. You guys see that pile of rocks there?"

"You mean the ones that sort of look like Zeus' fist? So, like a dung pile?"

"Uhm yeah Jason, but I recommend you don't say that to your dad. He could electrocute you."

Jason shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm all for respecting fatherly figures, but hey. What's he gonna do, blast me to bits and then forever be known as the god who barbequed his own son? Nah. Besides, I'm Jupiter's son, Jackson." He smirked at his supposedly awesome comeback.

Annabeth sighed. "We must polish up your debating skills, Jason." she said, and left it at that.

"Well...Fine." Percy eventually gave up.

"C'mon guys," he beckoned the group up the hill. "Trust me, it's a LONG way up. Better start up the journey to the-"

"Center of the Earth?" Leo suggested, giving him a wide smile to imply that he really wanted to visit there.

"Yeah Leo. Here, lemme just buy a plane ticket for six on my iPhone."

"You have an iPhone?"

"No. Anyway, we can still ascend while it's daytime..." the quest members looked very reluctant to climb all the way up the side of the hill. It was dangerous, and illegal.

"Aw, come on guys," Leo coaxed. " Don't think about the fact that all this work could be for nothing and that the entrance might not even be open anymore..like Charlie Bucket says, Think positive!" Frank looked at him.

"What positive side to this could there _be_?" he wondered aloud. Leo shrugged. "Beats me, but there has to be something. Alright gang, let's get a move on!" Leo was the first to start climbing up the hill, and the others, very soon, followed suit.

It took one dreaded hour to get to the summit. and when they did, Annabeth wondered if Leo was pretending to pass out, or if he really did.

Her hands graced along the familiar looking white board, and she recognized the faded blue words etched upon the rocky surface.

She could see Jason's face scrunched up as he struggled to read the Ancient Greek. After all, he was just a beginner.

"The way to all disgraced poles? Wait what?" he scratched his head, muttering, 'That can't be right...'

"Woe to all depraved souls, Jason." Annabeth said comfortingly, trying not to laugh at his fail at reading.

Jason shrugged."Well, I bet you couldn't read a paragraph of Latin, Annabeth." he smiled smugly. She rolled her eyes. "Let's go, Grace." She repeated the Greek words, and the rock filled entrance gave way and showed a dark tunnel.

"Let's go. I still can't believe it opened, but I guess we're lucky." she shrugged, and led the way into the Underworld.

**Well...I was lying then. This got crappier. REVEIW, FAVORITE AND...ALERT. IF you like it : p**

**Uhm, I won't be updating for a couple days...cause of this stupid sleepover thing with church =.=**

**But hope ya enjoyed!**


	9. Take a Breather

**I'M BACK. So, whaddup. I'm back...back from WHAT? That sleepover/homework that had me not able to write...I wrote this in an hour, so do not blame me if this SUCKS. It'll get better..I PROMISE. **

**So what else can I say, but "Enjoy, my awesomesauce readers."**

Percy

The air in Hell was a lot mustier than Percy had remembered. Then again, last time he'd been here, his senses were kind of hazed by the stinging water of the River Styx. He trudged along past Annabeth, in the front of the group, leading them to where he thought they should go.

"So, where are we going again?" Jason asked aloud. Percy was about to respond when the very few lights in the tunnel blacked out. The opening from the ground was covered by a sudden avalanche of rocks and when he walked a few more feet, he noticed that there was a large boulder covering their path.

He was confused. 'This wasn't here before, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't make guests very convenient here.' he thought. He furrowed his eyebrows and tried to find some sort of way out of the enclosed space.

He glanced at Jason and saw that he was squirming around uncomfortably. "Why so jumpy, Grace?" he asked, in a slightly teasing tone.

"Son of Jupiter, Percy. I like the sky, the open space..._not _small, cramped tunnels." he shuddered, trying desperately to claw a way out.

Percy nodded. So Jason had claustrophobia. He always thought it as sort of ironic, considering how his sister was with heights and open spaces.

Come to think of it, he had always wondered how Jason, a guy who loved flying and Thalia, a girl who'd rather kiss Jabba the Hut than fly, ever got to be related.

Annabeth, who was next to him, sighed loudly. "What's wrong?" he asked, trying to console his very frustrated girlfriend.

"I'm supposed to be leading this quest, and it's a freaking dead end, Percy! A dead end. o you know how much time we wasted trying to get here? Gods, I _knew _we shouldn't have tried the Hollywood entrance, I had a feeling it wouldn't work. I don't' even know what we're supposed to do anymore, they didn't give us ANY directions at all!" she said in one long breath, huffing towards the end.

She ruffled her hair and sat down on the rocky floor. Percy didn't know what to say, other than "Gee. Uh, don't stress out about it, I'm sure we can find a way to escape." She glared at him for the sad response, but eventually sighed again.

"Thanks, but that's not really helping, Percy." He smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Better than nothing?" he suggested lamely. She managed a smile.

Jason, who was sitting in the corner, raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Grace/' Leo asked, snickering at the glare he received for the joke.

"Well, shouldn't we be trying to get out of this most likely oxygen limited enclosure and finding a legit way into the Underworld?" he asked obviously. Percy pondered at the thought.

"Well, I was thinking about just sitting here and rotting to Death, literally, and getting to the Underworld that way, but hey! Your idea works too." he announced, thankfully gaining laughs from most people.

Leo patted him on the back. "I vote for Percy's idea, who's in?" he asked enthusiastically. Frank immediately raised his hand and smiled goofily, with a slightly reluctant, but smiling Hazel to join in.

Percy held his finger up and coughed for a moment, ruining his minute of praise. Nevertheless, he held a triumphant look on his face. "Ha, I win Grace." he snickered. Annabeth got up from the dusty rock she was sitting on and giggled. "As tempting as that sounds Percy, let's make that a plan B. How do you guys think we can get out?" she asked as she observed the rock walls.

Percy took a little time to look at it himself while some people started suggesting escape routes. "We could try blasting it." Hazel said, gesturing to Jason. "Or maybe we can try finding a weak spot in that avalanche pile." Frank announced.

Percy liked Leo's the best. "Let's take some of these plastic spoons I have and dig a hole-to China? And then we can take a boat from China and in that time, find out where the other entrance is in that mini prophecy that guy told me about!"

"Yeah, Leo. Sure." Was Annabeth's short response. Percy chuckled. "Leave it to Valdez to joke at a time like this." He stated aloud, once again drawing laughs from s several people.

Percy and Annabeth tried the first idea, and simultaneously eyed Jason. He looked at them with realization of what was happening upon his face.

"I thought you _didn't _want to die, Annabeth!" he exclaimed, apparently appalled at their implication.

"Well, it's sort of different..I mean, if we died like that, it would be quite painless..." she trailed off and Jason punched her lightly.

"Whatever, Chase. this space is way too small. I don't want to get electrocuted." She pleaded Jason with her eyes and he succumbed.

"Fine! Everyone, stand back. And I mean way back." he closed his eyes and focused on one small spot on the wall.

"How do you do that?" Percy whispered, referring to the way she could so easily convince Jason to do something.

"Charm speaker in training. No, I'm kidding Jackson, relax...I'm just uhm...persuasive." she joked, a smile on her face. He was glad to see she was in a good mood again. And gods, how he'd missed her. But something about her expression sort of irked him, as if she were hiding a piece of information.

He was then zapped-quite literally-out of his thoughts when he saw a bright blue flash fill his eyes and the smell of smoke in his nostrils.

Rocks crumbled and threatened to collapse on them and suffocate them to death, but did nothing to actually make any damage to anything but their clothing.

"Uh...time for plan B?" Jason asked, brushing soot off of his pants. He coughed slightly. A few minutes later, slightly coughing became a coughing fit, and suddenly, it seemed as if Leo had Hay fever.

Annabeth looked worried. "Jason, you okay?" she asked, patting his back. He rasped, "Can't breathe." Percy was about to ask if he had smoke in his lungs, but found that he could barely catch his breath.

His respiration became heavier and heavier. Percy wondered what was going on, when he felt lightheaded and sank to the floor.

"What's happening?" Hazel asked, with frank in her arms. Percy looked with pleading eyes at Annabeth, but she couldn't help.

"It's the shortage of air in here," Annabeth said grimly. "It's getting to them. It won't be long before we get there too, Hazel. Better work fast."

Hazel furrowed her brow., "But...it's only happening to the guys, Annabeth." Percy coughed, and the last thing he heard before he blacked out was, "That's not normal. Not _humanely _possible to plan."

**So who thinks they know what's going to happen next chapter based on context clues near the end of this chapter? Review and tell me! REVIEW, FAVORITE, AND ALERT...If you like it :p That's like, my catchphrase at the end of the chapter...and the beginning is...*drumroll* Who thinks they know? Hint: I only do it for Rome's Descent and some of my recent stories.**


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